Hope Is The Greatest Gift
by Haruka Tenou Distant Sky King
Summary: - As long as there was Christmas, hope would be greatest gift they would ever receive. - More Tarelyn Christmas FLUFF. Rated for my paranoia, as everything these days is...


**Christmas one-shot Number Three, and Tarelyn Number Two. Once more dedicated to Koneko. It's modern-themed, this time! XD**

**Disclaimer: _Alice in Wonderland, 2010_ doesn't belong to me; it's Lewis Carol and Tim Burton's. And Evelyn, as always, belongs to Koneko.**

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She tugged him along the street, her laughter the only sound. It was late, and the streetlamps were the only thing offering light. The snow fell softly, silently, and blanketed the ground. They had just come from dinner at a friends' place – Mirana's family had recovered well from Iracebeth's actions the previous year, which had landed the elder Underland sister in prison – and the blonde, Evelyn Steele, couldn't stop giggling about what had happened. The fourth member of their little group, one Amara Stayne – her older brother was in the slammer with Mirana's sister, something she avoided talking about at all costs – and nearly fallen on her face over an innocently placed gift she hadn't seen, and landed on top of Mirana.

As if that hadn't been enough, since both were already blushing crimson, they then noticed where they had landed. Needless to say, Evelyn thought that was the most awkward kiss she had ever witnessed, and considering how close she and Amara had been since they were children, she had seen a lot of awkward kisses both initiated and received by the elder blonde. That aside, though…

"I kind of feel bad for Mara, you know?" she murmured, finally slowing her pace and walking beside her as-of-yet-still-new boyfriend and long-time friend, Tarrant Hightopp. He simply looked up at the sky for a moment, the light of the street lamps reflecting oddly off of his green eyes. They were the same color as Amara's, but Evelyn's bleach-blonde hair was closer to Mirana's white-blonde than the sand colored locks their martial-arts prodigy friend possessed. Then Tarrant ventured to answer.

"I know what you mean, but… The bright side of the matter, though, is that now she doesn't need to fear her brother as well…" _Just her father, and/or being thrown out on the streets,_ was unsaid but understood. The group usually never spoke of their eldest member's home life, unless she showed up at school (they were all seniors in high school) with noticeable injuries. At which point, either Evelyn would start ranting, Marina would start crying, or Tarrant himself would prove just why he took anger-management classes by breaking whatever he happened to be holding and growling incoherent threats in Scottish Gaelic.

And yet Amara herself never complained; she simply smiled, shrugged, and said, _"Same shit, different day. It's life for me, guys; I'm well used to it by now."_ But something told Evelyn that none of them, not even she, knew the full extent of what the older blonde faced at home. She still saw Tarrant's point, though. "Yes, you're right about that… It's part of the Christmas spirit to hope, right?" She lobbied the question softly, but with her ice-blue eyes shining brightly.

"Aye, it is. As my Mam once said, 'hope is the greatest gift we'll ever receive.' Why do you want to know that, though?" He knew they were still talking about Amara, since Evelyn wasn't the one in the group to change topics randomly. No, that was the job of the blonde in question… or his own, when he was hopped up on his meds.

"I wanted to know because…" She blushed softly. "Because then I can hope that, someday, her life will get better… And that she won't have to fear anyone… And as long as there's Christmas, the time she can spend with us and not have to look over her shoulder every second… I'll keep believing and hoping that." There was nothing more that Evelyn devoted her passion to than her friends – aside from possibly soccer or acting.

He found that blush so very sweet. Smirking, the redhead male leaned down and kissed her softly. "And I'll hope that one day; you'll be a permanent part of my life." His Scottish brogue had thickened slightly, and as he leaned in and she rose up on her toes for another kiss, they both knew that his mother had been right, but so had Evelyn.

As long as there was Christmas, hope would be greatest gift they would ever receive.


End file.
